


Freudian Slip

by PumpkinWhatPumpkin



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Genre: Also warning for: Stereotyping, And references to straight up homophobia, But let's be honest people kind of sucked back then, Gaston actually being a good friend, Gen, It's primarily platonic but you can assume there is if you squint, No romance involved really, There's a reason LeFou is so dedicated to Gaston, Trying to be somewhat period appropriate, Warning for: Internalized homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 14:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12866730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinWhatPumpkin/pseuds/PumpkinWhatPumpkin
Summary: LeFou accidentally outs himself to his best friend. Gaston proves why he's LeFou's best friend.





	Freudian Slip

The portly man clapped a hand over his mouth immediately, his eyes going wide as the severity of his unexpected error sank in. His tall friend who was standing behind him paused for a moment, his jovial mood disappearing as he realized what it was he'd heard. He looked down at LeFou intensely, his dark, well-kept brows cinching together and his lips parting slightly.. But for once, Gaston had nothing to say. LeFou turned slowly, peering up at his friend with his hand still firmly clamped over his own mouth, as if he were afraid his loose tongue would betray him a second time. The look that the large man was giving him made him feel like a rabbit caught in the hunter's line of fire- a quick and easy kill, if Gaston felt inclined to pull the trigger.  
However he didn't recoil in the immediate revulsion that LeFou had expected. Instead, Gaston met his gaze and his brow raised, clearly astonished.

"You--" He started, but LeFou immediately raised his hands in a quieting gesture.

"Please don't tell!" He interrupted, uncharacteristically assertive, but his tone was thick with anxiety- Gaston couldn't remember a time that the little man had ever looked so afraid.. And despite everything he knew telling him to find LeFou to be an object of derision for what Gaston inwardly noted as an unusual preference- he just couldn't. Sure he had a habit of knocking his little friend about like a child's sport ball, and he made more than his fair share of jokes at LeFou's expense, but that was all in good fun, wasn't it? Using such a weighty secret as ammo for the next round of jesting would be downright cruel.  
The look in LeFou's eyes went from anxiety to pleading when Gaston failed to immediately provide a reply, and he lifted a hand to his mouth, biting his knuckle.

"I-if anyone finds out--! It will be the end of me, I'll be shunned-- run out of town or- o-or worse! Please Gaston, don't tell."  
LeFou trembled a little, his nerves fraying by the moment. He was terrified, and looked it too. He'd seen Gaston call out people who were different and use their attributes against them to great effect. Granted they were all people who had found a way to make an enemy of the hunter, but now that his own secret was in the crosshairs, he couldn't help but worry it may happen to him.  
However Gaston's brief shock had given way to astonishment- partly because he hadn't expected the sudden, accidental admission, and partly because he could scarcely believe his childhood friend would have reason to be so afraid.

"LeFou." He put a hand on the little man's shoulder, and noted the way LeFou stopped trembling as he looked up. "Your secret is safe with me."

LeFou felt a weight lift from him, and the sudden flood of elation that filled him simply couldn't be contained inside of his squat little body. His eyes glazed over and tears welled, spilling over the moment he lifted a hand to cover his mouth again.

"Thank you." He muttered, his voice hoarse. In perfect honesty, he really wanted nothing more than to hug his friend, but he knew that might seem a little too much in light of what Gaston had just discovered. He pulled his arms in close to his body instead, using his sleeve to wipe his tears away.

"I'm sorry-.." He apologized, not even entirely sure what for- maybe for getting so emotional. It wasn't as if he had never cried in front of Gaston before, but it had never been over something quite so personal. Gaston patted LeFou a little roughly on the shoulder, shaking him back into the present.

"Everyone has secrets, mon ami. I've let you keep some of mine- now I have a chance to return the favour. Truthfully, I'm surprised you managed to keep such a large secret hidden- how long have you known?" Gaston arched a brow, bold and direct as ever, but he was clearly putting in his best effort to be delicate. It wasn't working, but LeFou gave him a crooked grin for trying.

"Do you remember the Christmas festival in the orchard?" He asked, fairly certain that his friend most certainly did- LeFou distinctly remembered the trouble they had gotten up to that night.. Among other things he could distinctly recall that weren't related to their antics.

"That long ago? Really?" The larger man asked and LeFou nodded solemnly.

"I never felt the feeling everyone talks about with ladies- I thought maybe I would when I found the right one.. As it turns out, it had a lot less to do with the right lady than the fact that I was just.. Kissing the wrong people.." He muttered, feeling uncomfortably self aware all too suddenly. Gaston didn't seem to notice, absorbed with making a face at the thought of kissing another man. He didn't understand how any man could prefer the roughness and hard angles of another man to the soft embrace and sweet smell of a woman..  
But the more he thought of it, Lefou wasn't particularly rough or angular- if anything he was rather soft himself, and a flowery scent seemed to follow him around. Maybe it made more sense than not.. He decided to abandon that train of thought before it went anywhere else.

"Ah well- I suppose it's all the better for you. Having me as competition when it comes to winning the hearts of women would have proved too much for you anyhow." Gaston shrugged, smirking confidently and LeFou chuckled a bit, wiping the last of his tears away.

"Without a doubt. You really are the best, Gaston." He assured his friend- and he meant it.


End file.
